Study backing controversial Somerset County police merger to be released soon

Ed Murray/The Star-LedgerIt won’t be long before officials across Somerset County find out the best way to to merge 19 municipal police departments.

SOMERSET COUNTY — It won’t be long before officials across Somerset County find out the best way to to merge 19 municipal police departments.

A spokesman for the Somerset County prosecutor’s office said last week that the final report of a years-long study is on pace to be released at the end of February.

The six subcommittees in the task force investigating the issue have already handed in their recommendations, according to spokesman Jack Bennett.

A final report would finally open up public debate of the controversial plan, the details of which were still being ironed out late last year.

"I think there’s going to be heavy debate, over things from who’s in charge to union contracts," Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine said. "I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of give-and-take."

What’s known so far in the proposal is that the county would be divided into five precincts under the direction of one police chief. Authorities have said that more than 100 jobs would be shed through attrition.

Among the major unresolved sticking points was how towns would pay for the police force. One of the ideas was to first charge municipalities on how many of their officers are used, and later charge them using factors such as calls for service and the length of time spent on each call.

Participation in the countywide department will be optional.

The grand scale of the project have made several political and law enforcement officials hesitant to embrace it. They said the idea was worth studying, but they wondered how the funding aspect would be worked out, as well as the effect on police service.

It’s believed that a full police merger would save local towns nearly $18 million each year.

The police merger is one of several consolidation ideas that are being investigated. Somerset County officials are also looking at merging municipal tax assessment, construction code enforcement and courts.